This invention relates to a process for the addition of an alkene to an allyl alkali metal compound.
Alkylation, in general, is a process involving the addition of an alkyl group. Specifically, the term is used in the art to apply to various methods, including both thermal and catalytic processes, for bringing about the union of paraffinic hydrocarbons with olefins. Alkylation reactions are important throughout synthetic organic chemistry. For example, the process is especially effective in yielding gasolines of high octane number and low boiling range which are useable as aviation fuels.
Dimerization, in general, is a process involving the addition of an alkene to another alkene which has the same molecular structure. Dimerization processes are important in organic chemistry for a variety of reasons. For example, dimerization reactions are used to form higher alpha olefins from lower alpha olefins thereby providing higher molecular weight monomers which can then be polymerized. For example, propylene can be dimerized to form 4-methyl-1-pentene which in turn can be polymerized into poly(4-methyl-1-pentene). Currently, a preferred method in the art to perform dimerization reactions involves using an alkali metal on an alkali metal carbonate. However, these alkali metal/alkali metal carbonate catalyst systems tend to suffer from severe degradation which can lead to reactor plugging and shorter catalyst life. Additionally, it has been theorized that the conversion of the alkali metal to an active species can result in the expansion of the alkali metal in the alkali metal carbonate to the point that the catalytic system starts to break down. Therefore, methods to produce a catalytically active species without the use of an elemental alkali metal would be both scientifically and economically valuable.